Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists

Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists
Sudanese people, displaced from Gezira state due to RSF violence, sit under a tree in New Halfa, Kassala state, Sudan, November 3, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 05 November 2024
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Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists

Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists

PORT SUDAN: Ten civilians were killed in the central Sudanese state of Al-Jazira, pro-democracy activists said on Tuesday, in an attack they blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The Madani Resistance Committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across the country, said the RSF carried out the killings on Monday night in the village of Barborab, about 85 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the state capital Wad Madani.


Turkiye calls for ‘inclusive’ new govt in Syria: FM

Turkiye calls for ‘inclusive’ new govt in Syria: FM
Updated 19 sec ago
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Turkiye calls for ‘inclusive’ new govt in Syria: FM

Turkiye calls for ‘inclusive’ new govt in Syria: FM
  • Turkiye expressed support for the various forces that ended up ousting Assad and has said it hopes his removal will allow millions of Syrian refugees to return home
Ankara: Turkiye’s top diplomat called on Monday for an “inclusive” new government in Syria after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad following a lightning advance.
“We expect international actors, especially the United Nations, to reach out to the Syrian people and support the establishment of an inclusive administration,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a speech to ambassadors in the Turkish capital.
“We desire a Syria in which different ethnic and religious groups live in peace... a new Syria that will have good relations with its neighbors and will bring peace and stability to its region.
“We are ready to give the necessary support for this,” he said.
Although not directly involved in the rebel push, Turkiye expressed support for the various forces that ended up ousting Assad and has said it hopes his removal will allow millions of Syrian refugees to return home.
Turkiye, which has a long border with Syria, is home to nearly three million refugees who fled their homeland after the start of the civil war in 2011.
“We are going to continue taking steps for the secure and voluntary return of Syrians and for the rebuilding of the country,” Fidan said.
“We believe the Syrian people will seize this golden opportunity as well.”

Lebanese army says 1 person killed, 4 soldiers wounded in Israeli strike

Lebanese army says 1 person killed, 4 soldiers wounded in Israeli strike
Updated 8 min 57 sec ago
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Lebanese army says 1 person killed, 4 soldiers wounded in Israeli strike

Lebanese army says 1 person killed, 4 soldiers wounded in Israeli strike
  • Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah
  • Israeli army has repeatedly told Lebanese residents not to enter border areas, issuing another warning on Monday morning

Beirut: Lebanon’s army said one person was killed and four soldiers wounded Monday in an Israeli strike in the country’s south, where a fragile ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel came into force last month.
“The Israeli enemy targeted a car near the Saf Al-Hawa/Bint Jbeil military checkpoint, killing a citizen and lightly wounding four soldiers,” the army said in a statement.
The official National News Agency reported that “enemy aircraft struck a car on the Saf Al-Hawa road in Bint Jbeil near an army checkpoint, killing the driver, a civilian.”
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A ceasefire came into effect on November 27 and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
As part of the agreement, the Lebanese army and United Nations peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws over a period of 60 days.
Hezbollah is also meant to withdraw its forces north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army has repeatedly told Lebanese residents not to enter border areas, issuing another warning on Monday morning.
Last Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the country’s health ministry, shortly after Hezbollah claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
The same day, the Lebanese army in a statement said a soldier was wounded in an Israeli strike in the country’s eastern Hermel region.
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said Wednesday the death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah had reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, including 316 children.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.


Iran in direct contact with groups in new Syrian leadership, Iranian official says

Iran in direct contact with groups in new Syrian leadership, Iranian official says
Updated 16 min 12 sec ago
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Iran in direct contact with groups in new Syrian leadership, Iranian official says

Iran in direct contact with groups in new Syrian leadership, Iranian official says

DUBAI: Iran has opened a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria’s new leadership since its ally Bashar Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to “prevent a hostile trajectory” between the countries.
The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad’s fall as president removed a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world.
The senior official said Iran’s clerical rulers, facing the loss of an important ally in Damascus and the return of Donald Trump to the white House in January, were open to engaging with Syria’s new leaders.
“This engagement is key to stabilize ties and avoiding further regional tensions,” he said.


Presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory ‘temporary’, says Israeli FM

Presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory ‘temporary’, says Israeli FM
Updated 36 min 46 sec ago
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Presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory ‘temporary’, says Israeli FM

Presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory ‘temporary’, says Israeli FM

The presence of Israeli forces in Syrian territory is a “limited, temporary” step meant to ensure Israel’s security during the confusion after the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
“The only interest we have is the security of Israel,” he told a news conference in Jerusalem.
Saar also spoke about deadlocked negotiations with Hamas on a release of hostages in Gaza, saying indirect talks were ongoing, without elaborating. He said Israel could be more optimistic about an eventual breakthrough but was not there yet.


France to support Syria transition, French foreign minister says

France to support Syria transition, French foreign minister says
Updated 48 min 2 sec ago
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France to support Syria transition, French foreign minister says

France to support Syria transition, French foreign minister says

PARIS: France will support Syria's political transition following the fall of Bashar al-Assad and will send a special diplomatic envoy to the country in the coming days, France's caretaker foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.
Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent President Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family's autocratic rule.
The events in Syria were a stunning defeat for Russia, Barrot told France Info radio, as Moscow could now lose access to military assets it has in the Arab country.